Assess The Impact Of Shin's Story In Camp 14

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The main impact of Shin’s story in Camp 14 is the psychological toll the camp took on him. In the beginning of the book, Shin describes that he thought as his mother as competition for survival (77), and this led Shin to do things like steal her lunches. The need for survival in the camp forced Shin to not have typical relationships with his friends and family, and the psychological toll of the camp returned prisoners to their basic human urges and instincts. This ideal is similar to what happened to the boys in the Lord of the Flies when they began to turn against each other and view each other as means for survival instead of friends. Another instance of the psychological toll the camp had on Shin was when Shin recalled in June 1989 a girl …show more content…

The psychological brainwashing of the camp at a young age forced Shin and his other classmates to believe that their treatment was justified and appropriate, and that they were repenting for their parent’s mistakes. Even sometimes classmates were forced to participate in these beating and as a result they would begin to adapt and become like another set of teachers/guards. Since Shin was trapped in the camp until he was 23 years old, he had no knowledge of the outside world and was forced to believe the teaching and rules the camp set. Shin says, “His teachers, as a result, could shape the minds and values of students without contradiction from children who might know something about what existed beyond the fence” (71). Shin’s description of the psychological toll of the camp was the most disturbing and moving part of the book. Children forced in these political concentration camps are forced to believed that they deserve their abuse and they become so dehumanized to the acts happening around them they are unable to form bonds with other people. In the end of the book, Shin watches his mother be hung after attempting to escape Camp 14 with his older

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